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Saturday, May 2, 2015
Invitation To Arizona Governor Raul Castro's Celebration of Life
Friday, May 1, 2015
Arizona Rep. Schweikert Budget Presentation
Update on the Congressional Budget by Rep David Schweikert
Date: Monday, May 4, 2015
Time: 4:00 p.m
to 5 p.m..
Location:
City of Scottsdale, Mustang Library
Auditorium
10101 North 90th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Arizona-A gentle reminder - Annual LD 23 Legislator's Breakfast-always a great time!
Maricopa County Republicans Has NOT received any compensation to post this information,it is a courtesy post
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Invite To Marco Rubio Event In Paradise Valley,AZ May 6
You are cordially invited
to a private reception honoring
U.S. Senator Marco
Rubio
Wednesday, May
6th, 2015
3:15 p.m. – 4:15
p.m.
The
Sanctuary
For questions or to RSVP,
please contact Michelle Hyde
By phone at (602)
633-2777
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio's Bag of Tricks
Magic and politics have a lot in common – because they’re both all about
deception. 
However, there’s one big difference between the two: We enjoy being fooled by a magician. But when a politician tries to trick us we’re offended.
Sal DiCiccio is the David Copperfield of Phoenix politics … bold, brash and willing to bullshit people without blinking. DiCiccio is the maestro of misdirection and the master of misinformation.
DiCiccio’s latest strategy to defeat Mayor Stanton’s transportation tax not only stretches the truth, it rewrites reality. He’s telling voters they have a critical decision to make at the polls August 25th. Sal says: “This is about teachers or trains.” He continues by saying that just $1 billion of the $31 billion proposed tax would pay for 18,500 teachers. Sal wants us to believe our choice is between hiring more teachers or funding more trains as part of the proposal to extend the light rail system 42 more miles.
But there’s a big problem with that argument, because the City of Phoenix doesn’t fund education.
Sal isn’t stupid. He knows the city doesn’t provide funding for schools or teachers. He does, however, know how to fire up his voter base -- those who react to phony issues and silly sound bites. So while he may be invigorating the uninformed, he’s insulting the intelligence of the majority of voters who know better.
The Difference Between Day and Night
Because Sal’s sleight of hand skills are slipping, he’s also falling back on the oldest political trick in the book: Fearmongering!
DiCiccio has started cautioning us that Phoenix could turn into another Detroit. All that warning proves is that DiCiccio doesn’t know diddly squat about the demise of Detroit.
For decades Detroit was one of the country’s major manufacturing hubs. The core of the Motor City’s manufacturing was the automobile industry. When the economy hit a tailspin and people’s driving habits changed because of skyrocketing gasoline prices, competition from foreign car companies that manufactured cars with better gas mileage increased. Consequently, people who lived within the city limits either fled to the suburbs or migrated to other parts of the country to escape Detroit’s collapsing economy.
As a result, Detroit’s population sank like a stone … as did the city’s revenues to keep it running.
It would be difficult to find two cities with less in common than Detroit, Michigan and Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped Sal from trying to spook people about an impending financial implosion of Phoenix, no matter how farfetched his admonition.
Only yesterday DiCiccio pleaded with constituents: “Let’s not take the City of Phoenix down the same tracks as Detroit.” Original Post:Phoenix Views
However, there’s one big difference between the two: We enjoy being fooled by a magician. But when a politician tries to trick us we’re offended.
Sal DiCiccio is the David Copperfield of Phoenix politics … bold, brash and willing to bullshit people without blinking. DiCiccio is the maestro of misdirection and the master of misinformation.
DiCiccio’s latest strategy to defeat Mayor Stanton’s transportation tax not only stretches the truth, it rewrites reality. He’s telling voters they have a critical decision to make at the polls August 25th. Sal says: “This is about teachers or trains.” He continues by saying that just $1 billion of the $31 billion proposed tax would pay for 18,500 teachers. Sal wants us to believe our choice is between hiring more teachers or funding more trains as part of the proposal to extend the light rail system 42 more miles.
But there’s a big problem with that argument, because the City of Phoenix doesn’t fund education.
Sal isn’t stupid. He knows the city doesn’t provide funding for schools or teachers. He does, however, know how to fire up his voter base -- those who react to phony issues and silly sound bites. So while he may be invigorating the uninformed, he’s insulting the intelligence of the majority of voters who know better.
The Difference Between Day and Night
Because Sal’s sleight of hand skills are slipping, he’s also falling back on the oldest political trick in the book: Fearmongering!
DiCiccio has started cautioning us that Phoenix could turn into another Detroit. All that warning proves is that DiCiccio doesn’t know diddly squat about the demise of Detroit.
For decades Detroit was one of the country’s major manufacturing hubs. The core of the Motor City’s manufacturing was the automobile industry. When the economy hit a tailspin and people’s driving habits changed because of skyrocketing gasoline prices, competition from foreign car companies that manufactured cars with better gas mileage increased. Consequently, people who lived within the city limits either fled to the suburbs or migrated to other parts of the country to escape Detroit’s collapsing economy.
As a result, Detroit’s population sank like a stone … as did the city’s revenues to keep it running.
It would be difficult to find two cities with less in common than Detroit, Michigan and Phoenix, Arizona. But that hasn’t stopped Sal from trying to spook people about an impending financial implosion of Phoenix, no matter how farfetched his admonition.
Only yesterday DiCiccio pleaded with constituents: “Let’s not take the City of Phoenix down the same tracks as Detroit.” Original Post:Phoenix Views
Potential efficiencies pushed aside for politics by Jim Waring Phoenix City Council
Last week, Council members Thelda Williams, Bill Gates, Sal DiCiccio and myself
voted against a proposal that some believe will allow
Phoenix to create its own ID card. This could cost, based on the experiences of
other cities, the City of Phoenix millions of dollars in startup costs and
millions more in annual costs to produce a card that would not serve as valid
identification to police officers.
The City Council should address its budget issues and not spend time on what will be an expensive attempt to circumvent immigration laws, which are the federal government's responsibility. Please see below for a few articles from the Arizona Republic on the issue.
Thanks so much,
Jim Waring
Phoenix City Councilman - District 2
The City Council should address its budget issues and not spend time on what will be an expensive attempt to circumvent immigration laws, which are the federal government's responsibility. Please see below for a few articles from the Arizona Republic on the issue.
Thanks so much,
Jim Waring
Phoenix City Councilman - District 2
Read the full articles:
What if Phoenix creates a unified ID?
Maricopa County Republicans Has NOT received any compensation to post this information,it is a courtesy post
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
AZGOP Executive Committee Report
Important Results from AZGOP Executive Committee Meeting
We
had a long and productive AZGOP Executive Committee meeting this weekend. Even
though you should be receiving reports at your next LD or County meeting from
the members of the Executive Committee and your respective LD Chairmen, I wanted
to make sure details of what we discussed and accomplished were shared.
The
Executive Committee Members in attendance represented the vast majority of
Arizona counties and every congressional district. Additionally, your
Legislative District Chairmen were invited and nearly all of them attended. In
short, the entire State Party was well represented. Below is an outline that
summarizes the entire meeting.
If
you have any questions regarding any of the outlined points, please do not
hesitate to call or email me directly. My personal cell phone is 480-744-5442
and my email is robert.graham@azgop.org.
General
Party Business and Information:
- We reviewed and approved a budget and fundraising plan of $2.5 million that will help us prepare for victory in 2016. As with any goal-orientated budget we back into the expenses once we clearly understand what it takes to fund the operations of the party, which includes technology, community engagement, mail, events, office rent and overhead, labor, etc.
- The committee received informative presentations regarding the Phoenix transportation tax on the August ballot and marijuana legalization initiative expected to be on the 2016 ballot. Both will be significant battles and it is imperative that we as the Republican base understand all points relating to both initiatives.
- Corporation Commissioner Susan Bitter Smith updated the Committee on commission business and utility issues.
Congressional
Redistricting:
- Republican General Counsel, Tim La Sota, presented information about the congressional redistricting lawsuit and the upcoming decision by the US Supreme Court that we expect will favor us. He explained the steps following a ruling if and when ruled by the Court. He encouraged us to be ready for action in late May or early June.
Home
Owner Associations:
- Next Tim La Sota addressed an ever-increasing problem with HOAs. Some HOAs are prohibiting petition signature gatherers or grassroots activists from going door-to-door in gated communities. La Sota drafted a letter that will posted on the AZ GOP website. The letter can be used if HOAs are prohibiting canvassing neighborhoods. Further to the point, if an HOA insists on stopping electioneering or canvassing we are prepared to support all members with legal action.
Election
Reform Bills:
- La Sota spoke about the bill signed into law this week by Gov. Ducey that levels the playing field for candidates by requiring all candidates, not just those from major parties, to obtain a similar amount of signatures. The abuse that had occurred was real, with candidates in the Libertarian Party needing as few as five signatures to qualify for election. This new law will helpful by leveling the playing field candidate election signature requirements.
- Lastly, he addressed ballot harvesting prevention bill. The harvesting prevention bill did not make it through the process but we’ll continue our efforts to end ballot harvesting. Please contact your representatives and stress that Arizona voting should be One Ballot, One Vote. No harvesting will help to restore integrity to the entire voting process.
2014
Victory Report:
- Our Political Director, George Khalaf, gave a presentation on the exceptional work done by precinct committeemen, other volunteers and Victory Centers throughout the state for candidates. After careful analysis of the data collected for the 2014 cycle, we were able to show that the work done by the State Party and grassroots volunteers, created an 8.7% lift. This increase in votes helped candidates like Congresswoman Martha McSally and State Senator Sylvia Allen achieve victory this past November. George was also able to show that compared to the last 6 election cycles, the Republican slate held together better than anytime before. The work done on behalf of the entire Republican slate helped Republicans sweep all statewide offices, maintain majorities in both the House and the Senate and gain a majority in our Congressional delegation. Additionally, Republicans won countless races at the school board, city and town council, county and other levels. Great outcome for Republicans and the State of Arizona.
Resolution
to Close the Primaries:
- Closing the Primaries - It is important to note, that the largest allocation of time on the agenda was set to discuss closing Republican primaries. Please note that when the discussion began…my opening statement and remarks throughout the discussion addressed the fact that the State Committeemen had passed a resolution to close the primary and it was our committee’s job to understand all of the moving parts and to find a solution, if possible, to make it happen. The majority of members of the committee thought is/was essential to understand the legal process, financial impact, legislative actions and/or ballot initiatives involved to actually close the primary elections.
- Based on the resolution to close the primary that was passed January, and loose comments that have been circulating through emails and on various member community blogs, we presented the Committee with the research and legal advice we have compiled over the last two and a half months. The legal opinions were from four of the top state election attorneys. Three of the four attorneys are the same attorneys referenced by AJ LaFaro and the AFA Blog.
- If you recall, the resolution asks both the legislature and the party to overturn a provision in the state constitution, specifically directing the Committee to file paperwork to close the primary.
1)
Legislative Action:
The legislature has taken no action and has
adjourned until 2016.
2)
Lawsuit Option:
Many of us heard the case of the Libertarians
closing the primary, and that it was just a matter of petitioning the court.
What we learned, however, in our research and discussion which included several
experienced elections attorneys as well as the attorney who fought to close the
primary for the Libertarians, is that the effort would include significant
research and the cost would range across the board…potentially in the hundreds
of thousands to millions.
Furthermore, the majority of the attorneys who
had written opinion letters to be shared with the Executive Committee mention a
lawsuit of this type would be time consuming (up to 66 months), and that the
outcome was uncertain or even unlikely to be beneficial.
Specifically, we heard the Republican Party
would have extreme difficulty showing severe burden as the Libertarians. Simply
stated the argument is different thus making the path to closing the primaries
different. This does not shut the door to the resolution…it highlights the
necessary approach and the potential cost and time involved.
3)
Cost of Administering a Closed Primary:
The Secretary of State’s Office provided
information regarding the likely costs to the AZGOP for a closed primary, with a
typical statewide election costing about $10 million.
4)
Motion to Fund a $75,000 to File the Suit to Close the
Primary-Failed
During the Executive Committee meeting a motion
was made to spend up to $75,000 in legal fees to file suit to close the primary.
After discussion the motion was defeated with a significant majority NO vote.
After the motion failed, I asked the more than 75 attendees if anyone could or
would join the fundraising committee, only two committee members volunteered to
raise funds for the effort. This was after I asked three separate times.
5)
Ballot Initiative – Change the State Constitution
Some members discussed amending the constitution
with a ballot measure, and that’s certainly a possibility but ballot amendments
are voted on by all registered voters, which included Democrats, Independents,
Libertarians, Green, American Elect. It was also discussed that a ballot
initiative is probably not something that would be approved in a general
election. The cost of such an effort was also discussed, with amounts in the
millions of dollars considered.
County
Chairman, National Committeeman and Committeewoman Reports:
- Each county chair presented an update on their county activities for the past quarter, and National Committeeman and National Committeewoman reported on RNC issues.
Conclusion
and Wrap-up:
Our
meeting lasted nearly six hours and we accomplished a great deal, although many
were disappointed to learn the significant and costly obstacles to close and
administer the primary.
In
conclusion, it is not just my hope by my promise that the party will continue to
raise the necessary funds to win elections, field good candidates and provide
the tools needed by our PCs and State Committee. We all worked very hard to turn
out our voters in every election, and those efforts were fruitful in 2014 and
set the stage for a huge GOP turnout in 2016. This is our time to register
voters, build our ranks within the precincts and push forward onto victory.
I
am proud to be part of the Executive Committee of the AZGOP and I thank each and
every member who listened, spoke, acted and voted in good faith and in support
of the party.
Sincerely,
Robert
Graham
Chairman
Maricopa County Republicans Has NOT received any compensation to post this information,it is a courtesy post
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